LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- An 8th grade student from Gateway Charter Intermediate School has been arrested after deputies say he made threats against his school.
Earlier this month, the 13-year-old student, who we are not naming because of his age, was investigated due to statements on a notebook that were deemed to be not specific enough to be considered a viable threat.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, a therapist later recommended close scrutiny of the student, who had professed an admiration for the students responsible for the Columbine shooting.
The student also started making threatening statements in class and about a particular teacher, and made other statements about “shooting up” his school.
One discovered document read: “I (expletive) hate this (expletive) school. It’s pure existence pisses me off. Everybody here needs to die. (Expletive) humanity, (expletive) society, (expletive) life. Soon, I will become a god, and I will release my wrath on this (expletive) school soon.”
The student was Baker Acted, then charged with two felonies: Send Written Threat to Conduct Mass Shooting and False Report – Use a Firearm in a Violent Manner.
A spokesperson for the school issued this statement Monday:
"We are grateful for our collaboration with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. our national team at Charter Schools USA and our school safety team as we worked through and possibly averted what could have been a potential tragedy. Although we wish we never have to test our processes and practices when dealing with threats, we are very pleased to see how well this worked. Our number one priority is the safety and security of our students and we strongly encourage anyone who witnesses suspicious or concerning behavior to bring it immediately to the attention of adults and submit concerns to the FortifyFL app which was created to deal with this type of situation. We are not at liberty to discuss any specific student’s disciplinary actions; however, we can say that we follow the Lee County School District’s code of conduct and take all appropriate actions up to and including an expulsion hearing if a behavior warrants that. We have increased police presence at our school in an abundance of caution and to reassure parents that we have the situation under control."
